Flour packer



'(No Model.)

- J. HANDY 8v D. H. LORD.

FLOUR PAGKER.

Patented May 22,1883.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JoHN HANDY AND DREW H. LORD, OF NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA.

FLC'URHPACKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No'. 277,895, dated May 22, 1883.

Application filed January 6, 1883.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, JOHN HANDY and DREW HALL LORD, both citizens of the United States, and both residing at Northfield, in the county of Rice and State of Minnesota, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flour-Packers, of which the following specification-is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being also had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a flourpacker with a section of a barrel arranged upon its platform, showing the manner of attachiing our improvement thereon. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the packer tube with the packing-ring arranged thereon. Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged detail viewsofsections of the packer-tube, illustrating the manner of 'swaging the seam to render the outer surface symmetrical. Fig. 5 is a cross-section, and

Fig. 6 is a plan view, full sized, of a portion of the packer-ring.

A A are the stationary upright guides; B, the barrel-supportin g platform, adapted to slide up and down between said guides; (J, the barrel into which the flour is packed, and D the packer-tube containing the usual packer-screw, .all these parts being constructed in the ordiinary manner of a flour-packing machine. The platform B will beelevated by any well-known mechanism, usually a'system of ropes, pulleys, and counter-weigh ts; but no means for operating it is shown in the drawings, as it forms no part of our invention.

E, suspended by straps a a or by other suit- :able means, from the upper-part of the framework of the packer, so that while the ring is afree to be raised upward the full length of the packer-tube the straps will prevent its falling below the lower edge of the same. Attached to opposite sides of the ring E, either at the :same points where the straps a a. are attached, :as shown,or at any other points, are two smaller straps,b,projectingdownward,and attached by their lower ends to blocks or plugs c, to which the upper ends of two rubber tubes, F, are securely connected by being wound wit-h wire, or by any other means. To the lower ends of these rubber tubes two straps, d, simi lar to the straps b, are connected by their up per ends by plugs or blocks 0, similar to the Encirclin g the packer-tube D is a metal ring,

(No model.)

plugs 0, while the lower ends of the straps d are secured to the sides of the platform B, as shown. The tubes F, by their elasticity, will hold the ring E downward, so that when the ring is raised up byhand and the barrel 0 placed upon the platform B, beneath the tube D, and the ring E allowed to rest upon the upper edge of the barrel, it will be held down upon the barrel by the springs.

The ring E willbe covered with one or more thicknesses of woolen cloth,felt, or other materialhavingalongnaporfuzzysurface,and will be formed to fit thetubel) closely enough to prevent flour or dust from passing up between the tube and cloth covering of the ring, the nap or fuzzy surface of the cloth permitting the air to pass freely through between the barrel and ring and packer-tube and ring, but catching and retaining all the dust and flour.

The cloth or felt covering forms a packing that will fill the space between the ringand tube, and also between the ring and upper edges of the staves of the barrel, and by its flexibility press into all irregularities of the surfaces and prevent leakage. By these simple arrangements the packing-ring will be held down'upon the barrel with an equal strain at whatever point of elevation the barrel may. be with relation to the packer-tubeand form a dust and flour tight joint betweenthe barrel and packing ring and between the packer-tube and packing-ring.

Alarge amount of flour has been lost heretofore in packing by theescape of the flour between the tube D and the barrel; but by this simple device all such loss is avoided.

' The tube D is usually formed of a sheet of metal bent into a cylinder and with the edges overlapping and riveted together, as shown in Fig. 3; but this would leave an open space alongside the joint att, between the tube and ring E, through which the flour would. leak;

but to prevent this we swage the inside part at other parts than the platform B and do not move up and down bodily with the barrel the higher the barrel is raised the more the springs are compressed; hence greater power is required to raise the barrel. In our arrangement the only increase of power required to operate the packer is caused by the small amount of friction of the ring E and its packing upon the tube D.

We also claim a great advantage in the'use of coarse flannel or other similar material having a long nap or fuzzy surface for a covering to the ring E, as this material, being porous, allows the air to pass through readily, but catches and retards all dust or-flour. This arrangement also permits the packer-screw to be lowered down a short distance below the lower edge of the tube D to permit a freer escape of the flour without danger of the flour being forced outover the topof the barrel, as the ring E holds it in, and thereby greatly increasesthe capacity of the packer. Any other form of spring than the rubber tubestF, or weights, could be also used under some circumstances, if preferred.

We are aware that packing-rim gs have been used heretofore toprevent the escapeof flour from between the packer-tube and the barrel being filled; butsuch we do not claim, broadly.

What we claim as our invention is-' 1. In a flour-packer, a packer-tube, and a platform for supporting the receptacle for the flour, and adapted to be elevated to cause said receptacle to pass upward outside of said tube,

in combination with a paclringring encircling said packer-tube and resting upon the top of said receptacle, and springs for connecting said packing-rin g and platform, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a flour-packer, the combination of the packer-tube D, the flour-receptacle G, and a ring, E, covered with one or more thicknesses of cloth or similar material, and encircling said tube and resting upon the upper edge of said receptacle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 7

3; The combination of the packer-tube I), receptacle 0, platform B, packin g-rin g, suspension-straps a a andsprings F, substantially as. and for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN HANDY. DREW HALL LORD.

Witnesses;

O. F. PERKINS, G. M. PHILLIPS. 

